12
Cunning

18
Resolve

Threats to Udyr with this build

Fiddlesticks is scary if fed and at a distance. So don't feed him, steal his Blue Buff so he can't feed, and Bear-Stun to break his drain. You'll wipe him off the map in a few seconds.

3

Xin Zhao

Any lane that gets an early outer turret, push up to counter-jungle and kill Xin early, while his damage output is still weaker, and your stun gives you the edge.

5

Master Yi

Easy to kill if you stun him with his Ult down/used. Hard to contain if he gets an initial Q off (he's untargetable until after he takes a chunk of your health) and popping his Ult lets him chase you if he's fed, or get away from even your Bear-turbo if he runs. If he's fed, don't 1v1 if his Ult is up. In team fights, after Yi engages with Q:
pop W-Turtle to get the shield
rush in with E and Stun, R-Melt,
then W+E out, so team can take him down.
That's common tactic for engaging all glass cannons.

8

Irelia

Early, or if you hit her with E-Bear Stun or have help to CC her, you're good.
Otherwise, or alone, Irelia's gap-close Q will allow her a nearly-instant E-Strike that Magic Damages and Stuns if you are at higher health, followed by W-Hiten True Damage (that ignores your tankiness, while healing her). She can then run to stay out of range while slicing you with (4)R blades that heal her. If she's fed, get a partner.

9

Trundle

Nearly everything in his kit is designed to block what you're doing, stop you from making contact, and kill you. Do NOT run into Trundle 1v1, bait him with a partner only, or run in to stun/help after a teammate has kited him down.

9

Maokai

Maokai is a dangerous tanky adversary with a deadly combination of jungle-clears nearly as fast as yours, with Slows and abilities that will snare and kill you before you can apply your massive On-Hit and over-time effects. Do NOT 1v1 in jungle, but watch for opportunities after he has used his abilities.

MASTERIES ALT B

SEE ABOVE
Thunderlord's Decree can work very well with Udyr - Few champs deal as many multiple attacks or spells on an enemy as quickly as Udyr, every time they engage. Nearly every time you Stun-Melt-Claw an opponent you'll hit that "third strike" - and you will proc this 10 Bonus AD Per Level AND 10% OF YOUR ABILITY POWER in Magic Damage to ALL enemies in the area... ~every 20 seconds!
We are building an AP beast here, so this Mastery is also tailor made to scale through the complete build to end of game, as the cooldown starts at 25 but works down to 15 seconds.

INTRODUCTION to Sandomar

Hey Summoners!
I'm Sandomar, a completely non-Ranked but relatively experienced gamer who has enjoyed playing Udyr since I began LoL around end of Season 3.
On any given day, I may play like Godyr the Phoenix...or Noobyr.
But even then The Plan looks good, it's all about execution, and the team, and coordination, and map awareness.
My goal with this Udyr build is AP damage + mana + armor first for jungling, Tank + MR later.

OVERVIEW of AP-Phoenix UDYR

KEY SEASON 7 CONSIDERATIONS

As a result of the 'new meta' evolving after Riot's latest changes, Season 7 may not necessarily bode as well for teams attempting to build patiently for entirely late-game power champions, so team up with champs that perform wave clears well during early game.

Early ganks with Udyr will typically be mostly hit & run.
You have an effective E- stun, but you will only be tanky enough early on to 1v1 squishy champs. Avoid CC snares that result in accidentally feeding your opponents.
Until you get your first defensive item built, plan to:

E-Stun

R-Melt+True-Damage-Smite

E-Run with W-Turtle

while ing them, if you have that, or Flash away when needed if you took that instead.

Let your lane ADC's take the kill if they are able, so you help your own team get fed.
Laners should apply their best CC when they see you dashing in, and dump their best attacks as soon as you make contact, while the opponent is stunned.

You go back to earning your gold in the jungle or counter-jungling.
Either way, you want to help push lane momentum in your favor, but without 'stealing' too much of the gold from killing lane minions.

IF your gank results in a kill and an empty lane, help push into the turret if possible, as even early with only a single Tiger level, you can help quickly take one down.
New map bonuses of all kinds now reward pushing momentum, so watch for a win in a nearby lane and help your laner push through a turret.

If no kill, often you'll force an opponent to recall, and that lane either gets pushed or your laner can go shopping.

LATE game, once you are built, there are few who can survive you 1v1, unless they CC you on your way in. Once you get in their face and make contact, you will be deadly. Surprise is your friend, but just seeing you running in will often force a flash/escape or waste of an Ult.

EARLY JUNGLE

Start with R-Phoenix and begin at Red Brambleback
* IF you have willing teammate(s) invade for an early kill!
* IF you do not make contact with, or were not sighted by the enemy laner, and know your opposing jungler is a BLUE starter, you may steal his Red buff and run.
* IF you just stole Red, you need mana, so take your Blue next.

If you have a good, hard leash teammate, you might get to save your Smite for another jungle camp. If you get low on health, you'll want to run to River next and catch the newly-spawned Rift Scuttler.

[*} If you are at Blue Sentinel Blue due to starting with a Red-invade-steal, remember that Gromp gives you bonus Experience, so be sure to kill him every chance you get, even though there is no longer a buff from using Smite on him. :/
Upgrade ; you need the health to sustain your next jungling fights.

Pop W- and attack the Blue Sentinel for Crest of Insight, a buff which grants increased mana and energy regeneration as well as +10% cooldown reduction.
Rotate R and W as each comes off cooldown.
IF you started alone with no leash (ally help), you'll get down to only a couple bars of health or may run out of mana. Use your refillable-bottle of health, or when is up, go ahead and Smite as needed.

If you didn't invade and hit the River on the way back, go now and kill the Rift Scuttler.

Wolves - If you didn't need or use on Blue, then you can the Greater Murk Wolf. If your Smite is not up yet when you engage, target the smaller wolves first.
Keep rotating W and R. You'll level up.
Upgrade Q- to pick up the bonus damage.

Head to the Raptors and attack the small ones first. W to engage with shield and pick up health, rotating with R for AoE damage. You will not have a Smite ready, and that's OK, save it.

If you had a leash help to begin, and efficiently rotated your W into your damage, you should have sufficient Health to go for your own Red Brambleback.
Using on the Red Brambleback bumps 20% of your max health instantly, and once he's killed you gain the Crest of Cinders, a buff which grants health regeneration and causes your basic attacks to slow the enemy while also dealing true damage over time.

If not, Bypass Red above and attack the Krug first. Ancient Krug will split into 2 Krugs, which splits into 4 mini-krugs.

If healthy, you may Bear-Run out to bottom river and pop the other Rift Scuttler

You now have well over the min >1000 gold you wanted for a Stalker+Boots recall, hopefully >1720 so you get your Tear of the Goddess as well.

CHOOSE:

Continue back to another site for further jungling, such as E- back to your Gromp, which is now up, or invade and counter-jungle. by now; Smite R+Q+W+R and most camps are about done.

Help an abandoned lane to kill off a wave of nearby minions before your turret eats them (free experience and gold)

Rinse-Repeat-Gank, then RECALL and shop

FIRST TRIP BACK TO SHOP

BUY Jungle Smite Weapon of Choice

BUY

EXTRA GOLD? => Mana Regen into

IF enough to buy you more mana, SELL your refillable potion to get it.

LOOK AT THE MAP

Do you run out for a Gank opportunity?RULE #1 - DO NOT FEED THE ENEMY
More Jungle? Dragon?
Is a lane being pushed that needs a hand?

This is where most struggle while learning jungle, unsure of what is the best thing to do next. It's not always obvious. I still don't always get it right, and there are several right answers here.
Watching Pro's will help, but what Pro's do after their first item purchases is not usually the best thing in soloQ with random teammates, where you do not have headsets for instant communication and coordination between team members.

You are 'just a bit' too weak and don't yet have armor to solo the Dragon, unless you take a freshly respawned Blue Buff (the enemy's?) or Red Buff. Krug no longer has a Buff to help, and neither does Gromp.

You are 'just a bit' too weak and don't have damage to 1v1 most, even with full health.

You are 'just a bit' too weak to duo Rift Herald unless your assisting laner is ahead and has a completed item, and you need a Blue Buff for mana to survive the fight.

BUT you have Red Buff and boots, and a Bear Stun, so any of the above is possible, depending on how things are going.

THINK THIS THROUGH - BEFORE THE GAME - Be ready to either:

Jungle further to farm first, though all sites will not be re-spawned yet (Gromp will be ready, and wolves up soon thereafter)

Rush into any lane where your laner needs a break so HE can recall and shop

Assist pushing a turret if an ally has just made a kill

Go for that first Gank.

Go for dragon if bottom lane has pushed their minion wave up.

Go for Rift Herald if both top and mid lane are in good shape and one or both have a completed item and can assist (you need a buff first).

Your job at this point is typically NOT to Assassinate (gank for a burst-kill) unless you see a can't-miss opportunity and your laner is gone or weak.
As early UDYR, consider yourself a tanky melee Support.
You WANT an assist, not a kill, as you want your laners fed.
You WANT to help your LANER get a kill, to get ahead of their opponent.
Then help push their lane into the next turret and go back to the jungle or recruit them to help you take an objective (Dragon or Rift Herald).

SECOND TRIP BACK

Priority = Rift Herald
IF top and/or middle are also fresh back or healthy with no opponent in lane (after kill or enemy recall), so at least 2 of you have Health and initial items...

It is also OK if your laner gets it and uses it to push their lane.It is NOT OK for you to kill the Rift Herald and go back to jungling.
RECALL IF NEEDED.
WHOEVER kills the Rift Herald gains a One-Champ-Personal-Mini-BARON buff.
USE IT! Push a lane! Take a Turret!

SPLIT-PUSHING MACHINE

Udyr always had a problem attempting to dive a defended Turret, since he is melee and had no way to use 'range' to destroy enemy minions still within turret range, let alone opponents getting the defensive shield boost that previously was given by inner turrets.

That inner-turret defender shield is gone

UDYR damage TO THE TURRET from any stance, including Tiger rotation (with Phoenix once minions show up) NOW includes 0.5 of your Ability Power!
[\list]
This makes AP-Udyr, already one of the best Split-Pushing machines in the game, even better!
Combine this with your ability to E- out with W- up when challenged, and only hard CC champs with help will be able to stop you.

Pros / Cons

- Steep gold requirements for good build with both tank and AP.- TIME required to pick up the core bonus items is past the laning phase.- Latest changes to the overall game mechanics favor quick, early success.- Vulnerable to champs with ranged CC and kiting. If Udyr can't make contact to stun, or gets disabled/grabbed/bounced/swallowed first, he can be taken down without doing much damage.

Udyr is one of the most flexible champions to play. He can be effective with any team composition, and can be adjusted with item choices to fight any enemy composition.

Even at game start, He can clear his entire jungle side, and then some, picking up clear speed quickly along the way.

This build does mega Magic Damage, but also does quick Physical Damage using Tiger in the rotation, as well as some True Damage as part of his Smite weapon. So it is difficult for opponents to fully build 'against' Udyr.

Udyr is not only a Tank when built, but can initiate or peel with his stun and choose to either stay and melt opponents, or run with his shield at any time.

Most other junglers have a key "Ultimate" that is great for ganks, but not as helpful in jungling. Udyr does not suffer this drawback, as all of his Stances are equally useful and available with fast cooldown regardless of opponent.

Some steps for Udyr to buy the items noted above are big steps to achieve, however, so if you get behind or counter-jungled, it can be difficult to stick with The Plan.

It takes a lot of work and time to get your initial items and reach Seraph's Embrace. Riot's latest changes to the overall game SPEED UP momentum and reward an early-strength team that clears minions faster. This reduces the impact of a patient, tanky/support jungle build - even one that can be VERY powerful in a longer game.
It is now VERY difficult to stage a comeback and recover if you get behind or your team does not clear minion waves well early game.
The new Rift Herald becomes even MORE important. Watch for chances to help your top or mid to Take It.

SKIN: UDYR's "Ultimate" skin, Spirit Guard, appears to have been tweaked along the way so that it not only LOOKS awesome - truly unique among champs - but now that I have it, I don't use any of my other skins, it's just too good to pass up, and 'feels' like it enhances your play.

DEFINITIONS

Throughout this guide you'll see some fairly standard abbreviations. Not sure I caught them all here, but I remember learning this game and being a bit frustrated seeing them and not yet knowing what all of the terms meant.AD = Attack Damage.

Physical damage.

ADC = Attack-Damage Carry.

A champ that is primarily Physical (sometimes with some 'True') Damage based, both in base champ attacks and then later with Physical Damage items. Many are somewhat 'glass cannon' (see below). Can be Ranged (shoot things) or Melee (smash things by hand or with weapons).

AoE = Area of Effect.

Any effect, whether spell, attack, or CC, that is applied to multiple or all opponents in a defined quantity or area around the target.

AP = Ability Power.

Provides the power for Magic Damage.

APC = Ability Power Carry.

A champ that is primarily Magic Damage based (sometimes with some 'True' damage), both in base champ attacks/spells and then later with Ability Power items. Many are somewhat 'glass cannon' (see below). Usually Ranged (distance spells) though some AP attacks are Melee (on hit).

CC = Crowd Control.

Any one of a wide ranging group of effects that stun/slow/knock-up or otherwise temporarily incapacitate one or more opposing champs and/or neutral monsters/minions.
Some are innate, such as the single-target Stun of Udyr's Bear Stance. Others are AoE, such as Alistar's Q-Pulverize. Item CC effects are also available, such as the slow from Frozen Mallet.

Glass Cannon = High Damage/Easy(er) to Kill

A champion that is built to do damage, but is somewhat Squishy (see below).

Leash = Teammate assistance with a jungle monster, typically the first camp.

Proc = Effect Trigger

Any "Special Process" (like the spec_proc code from the days of the 2Towers MUD we ran on a VAX at the Air Force Academy over DARPA-Net), that is triggered by an appropriate attack. Google reveals that someone later filled in the acronym as "Programmed Random OCcurrence," but so far as I know has been used for any event that had a 'Chance' of occurrence. In the case of LoL, it's often used as a verb to describe the act of triggering an effect 'on hit' that happens 100% of the time, but only when a certain set of conditions are present.

Squishy = Easy(er) to kill than others.

Any champion that is relatively easy to kill, at least at some stage, due to low base armor and/or magic resistance. These are also typically built as a glass cannon to do more damage rather than building tanky (see below) to survive attacks. Ranged mages and projectile shooters are more often Squishy, than are melee fighters, and their lack of innate damage resistance or health somewhat balances their potential high damage output or high value support capabilities.

Tank = Hard to Kill.

A champion with high base resistance to attacks, physical and/or magical, or who has innate shielding or healing capability. Often these champs are then further tanked-up by building Armor and Magic Resistance items. A Tank champ is generally played as a combat initiator, rushing in to engage one or more opponents, often with a CC attack or effect involved, knowing that the Tanky champ can survive the brunt of initial attacks long enough to allow his team to apply their own attacks to the enemy and hopefully come out of a team fight with an advantageous result.

True Damage = Direct Health Destruction.

This is damage that directly reduces a champions Health, while ignoring both Armor and Magic Resistance, as well as most other damage reduction. Consequently, the antidote to True Damage attacks (such as Irelia using her W-Hiten Style active) is to build Health (and Health-Regen).

Summary

More to come!
I've already made fairly major adjustments in items (Devourer rather than Runeglaive, Arch Staff with Guinsoo's? yep...) and build order - for Season 7.

Everyone is searching for the most efficient, optimal progression for strong impact in the game with current settings, buffs, nerfs, and the new Rift Herald...and I am too.
Please comment as you wish to share your successes, failures, and advice for others.
We all want to see UDYR Respect throughout Summoner's Rift!